Summary: State Party Lebanon ratified the convention on 5 November 2010, becoming the first State Party from the Middle East. Lebanon has expressed its desire to amend existing legislation to enforce the convention’s provisions. It has participated in every meeting of the convention and hosted the convention’s Second Meeting of States Parties in Beirut in September 2011. Lebanon was a lead sponsor on a UN resolution on the convention in December 2015. It has condemned new use of cluster munitions and elaborated its views on a number of important issues relating to the interpretation and implementation of the convention. Lebanon reports that it has never used, produced, or stockpiled cluster munitions. Cluster munitions were used in the past in Lebanon, most recently by Israel in 2006.

Policy

The Republic of Lebanon signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008, ratified on 5 November 2010, and the convention entered into force for the country on 1 May 2011.

Following a legislative review, Lebanon in September 2012 announced its desire to amend existing legislation to ensure implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[1] In April 2013, it stated that a final report with recommendations on national measures had been drafted for circulation to stakeholders.[2]

Lebanon submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report for the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 27 October 2011 and provided annual updated reports since then, most recently in March 2016.[3]

Lebanon participated throughout the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions and advocated forcefully for humanitarian protection to be accorded first priority in the development of the convention’s provisions.[4] It hosted a regional conference on cluster munitions in Beirut from 11–12 November 2008 to draw attention to the convention and its Oslo Signing Conference.

Lebanon hosted the convention’s Second Meeting of States Parties in Beirut on 12–16 September 2011.[5] Lebanon’s President General Michel Sleiman addressed the meeting’s opening ceremony with a statement that condemned the use of cluster munitions. Lebanon’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Adnan Mansour, served as president of the Second Meeting of States Parties with the assistance of Lebanon’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador Najla Riachi Assaker.

Lebanon continues to play an active role in the work of the convention. From September 2014 until September 2015, it served as co-coordinator of the convention’s work on the general status and operation of the convention together with the Netherlands. In this role, Lebanon played a central role in helping to establish an implementation support unit (ISU) for the convention, including securing agreement on the financial procedures for its operation.

Lebanon participated in the convention’s First Review Conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia in September 2015, where it made several statements. In an address to the high-level segment of the meeting, Lebanon urged States Parties to pay greater attention to their international cooperation and assistance to ensure full implementation of the convention.[6]

Lebanon was a lead sponsor on and voted in favor of a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution on the convention adopted on 7 December 2015, which urges all states outside the convention to “join as soon as possible.”[7] A total of 139 states voted in favor of the non-binding resolution including many non-signatories.

Lebanon has participated in every Meeting of States Parties of the convention and the First Review Conference, as well as intersessional meetings in Geneva in 2011–2015. It has convened and participated in regional workshops on cluster munitions.

Lebanon has stated it is disturbed and deeply concerned at “cluster munition use anywhere by anyone.”[8] At the First Review Conference, Lebanon said, “we believe any use of cluster munitions must be condemned, regardless of who used.”[9] At the UNGA First Committee on Disarmament and International Security in October 2015, Lebanon’s representative stated that “based on its continuous painful experience as a victim of these weapons since 2006, Lebanon condemns any use of cluster munitions and calls for the universalization of the Convention.”[10]

Lebanon is not party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is also not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Interpretive issues

Lebanon has elaborated its views on several important issues relating to the convention’s interpretation and implementation. It has stated that the prohibition on the transfer of cluster munitions includes a prohibition on “transit,” that foreign stockpiling of cluster munitions is prohibited, that financing and investment in cluster munition production or transfer is prohibited, and that Article 1 of the convention takes precedence over Article 21 so that “States Parties must never undertake any act that could constitute deliberate assistance with a prohibited act.”[11]

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

Lebanon has stated several times that it has never used, produced, or stockpiled cluster munitions.[12] It has confirmed no production of cluster munitions in its Article 7 reports.[13]

Lebanon has not retained any cluster munitions for training or research purposes because it says it sees no reason to do so as the “detection of submunition remnants does not require a more sophisticated technology than what currently exists.”[14]

Israel used cluster munitions in Lebanon in 1978, 1982, and 2006.[15] The United States (US) dropped cluster bombs against Syrian air defense units near Beirut during an intervention in December 1983.[16] In 2006, Hezbollah fired cluster munitions from southern Lebanon into northern Israel.[17]

Contaminated by: landmines (heavy contamination), cluster munition remnants (medium contamination), and other unexploded ordnance (UXO). 

Article 4 deadline: 1 May 2021
(Not on track to meet deadline)

Non-signatory to the Mine Ban Treaty

As of the end of 2015, the Republic of Lebanon had 29km² of confirmed mined area, across 1,463 confirmed hazardous areas (CHAs), in addition to more than 5.25km² of mined area along the Blue Line.[1] Almost 0.92km² was cleared, no land was released through survey in 2015. 

As of the end of 2015, 773 areas were confirmed to contain cluster munition remnants, totaling more than 16.3 km² across four provinces. During 2015, 13 new areas were discovered. In 2015, 1.69km² of cluster munition-contaminated land was cleared, and 3,329 submunitions destroyed.

A further 8.8km² is suspected to contain either cluster munition remnants or mines.

Recommendations for action 

• Where possible, non-technical survey (NTS) and technical survey should be used to more accurately define areas of actual contamination, factoring in the required fadeout distance, especially with respect to militia minefields in northern Lebanon. This would also help more accurately establish a national baseline of mine contamination.
• The Lebanon Mine Action Center (LMAC) should improve its land release system to accord with international standards. Improvements should be reflected in the revised National Mine Action Standards (NMAS), and all mine action stakeholders should be consulted before their finalization. As part of this process, LMAC should consider the views of humanitarian demining operators on issues such as the specified clearance depth and fadeout.
• Where appropriate, LMAC should use demining machinery and mine detection dogs (MDDs) as primary as well as secondary clearance assets.
• LMAC should cross-check information entered into the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database, to ensure mine contamination and land release data are being assessed and recorded accurately.
• The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) should explore the possibility of resuming humanitarian demining operations.
• LMAC should more accurately determine the baseline contamination from cluster munition remnants.
• Newly discovered cluster strikes should not automatically be recorded in the LMAC database as covering 33,000m². Instead, a more accurate assessment of the size of each contaminated area should be determined through non-technical and technical survey.
• Lebanon should mobilize the necessary resources to finish cluster munition clearance as soon as possible, but not later than 1 May 2021.

Contamination

Lebanon is contaminated with mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), largely a legacy of 15 years of earlier civil conflict and Israeli invasions of southern Lebanon (in 1978 and 1982) and subsequent occupations that ended in May 2000. Cluster munition contamination is mainly the result of the conflict with Israel from July–August 2006, although some remnants are from conflicts in the 1980s.[2]

Mine contamination

As of the end of 2015, Lebanon had 29km² of confirmed mined area, across 1,463 CHAs, as set out in the table below, in addition to more than 5.25km² of mined area divided into 626 “tasks” along the Blue Line.[3]

A further 178 “dangerous areas” totaling 8.8km² were suspected to contain either cluster munition remnants or mines.[4] An additional 93 dangerous areas totaling almost 2.9km² were suspected to contain booby-traps, some of which fall under the Mine Ban Treaty definition of an antipersonnel mine.[5] The designated “dangerous areas” are mainly the result of accidents having been reported to LMAC by the local community, and for which further investigation and/or survey is needed to confirm the type and extent of contamination.[6]

Contamination by province as at end 2015[7]

Note: * In addition, 5,251,007m² of mined area exists along the Blue Line.

The 29km² of contamination, excluding the Blue Line, represents an increase in overall baseline contamination over the 28.2km² of contaminated area as of the end of 2014. The difference in total mine contamination has not been explained.

Mines affect the north and south of the country, though the majority are in the south. The minefields in northern Lebanon and Mount Lebanon are typically “militia” minefields (i.e. were laid without a pattern and for which minefield maps do not exist), and were laid by multiple actors during the civil war. The minefields in the south are typically conventional minefields, where the location of the mines is identified on minefield maps.[8]

Mines hinder socio-economic development, restricting access to land and productive resources. Most contamination is on valuable agriculture land.[9] According to LMAC, mines along the Blue Line negatively affect more than 200,000 people.[10] It has been reported that people are crossing the Blue Line to harvest olive groves and graze livestock.[11]

Cluster munition contamination 

At the end of 2015, Lebanon had 773 areas confirmed to contain cluster munition remnants, totaling more than 16.3km².[12] Four regions still contain cluster munition contamination, as set out in the table below. This compares to 799 areas confirmed or suspected to contain cluster munition remnants, totaling 17.85km², as at the end of 2014, although the figure should have been 16.1km² as the 1.7km² of land canceled in 2014 was not entered into the database until 2015.[13] During 2015, 13 new cluster munition-contaminated areas were discovered, totaling 429,000m².[14]

As indicated above, a further 178 “dangerous areas” totaling 8.82km² are suspected to contain either cluster munition remnants or mine contamination,[15] a figure unchanged since the end of 2014.[16] The designated “dangerous areas” are mainly the result of accidents having been reported to LMAC by the local community, and for which further investigation/survey is required in order to confirm the type and extent of suspected contamination.[17]

The difference in total cluster munition contamination between the end of 2014 and end of 2015 cannot be explained solely by taking into account the area canceled by NTS, released by clearance, and discovered to be contaminated (but previously unrecorded) during 2015. This is because many of the cluster munition clearance tasks conducted in 2015 proved to be greater in size than the area recorded in the database, thereby impacting the baseline contamination area.[18]

Cluster munition contamination of the end of 2015[19]

During the 2006 conflict, Israel fired an estimated four million submunitions on south Lebanon.[20] In 2016, LMAC stated original contamination had been more than 60km², with almost 44km² having been cleared to date, leaving 16.3km² of contamination to release at the beginning of 2016.[21] In addition, some cluster munition remnants still remain from earlier conflicts with Israel in 1978 and 1982.[22] The baseline estimate of overall contamination has continuously been revised, as previously unrecorded contamination continues to be discovered.

New cluster munition areas are automatically assigned a size of 33,000m² by LMAC. However, Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) have calculated the size of the average cluster munition area to be larger, at around 60,000-65,000m².[23]

Additional cluster munition remnants may also exist in the Blue Line minefields in the far south of Lebanon, along the border with Israel.[24] Since late 2015, permission has been granted for clearance to be undertaken of some of the Blue Line minefields. Only when clearance begins will the extent to which these mined areas are also contaminated with cluster munition remnants be revealed.[25]

Following clearance, around 85% of land has been used for socio-economic purposes, such as by farmers to generate a source of income.[26] Cluster munition remnants continue to affect the agricultural community, particularly in Beqaa and south Lebanon. MAG’s survey in 2014 found that in four-fifths of the contaminated areas surveyed, contamination had made access to resources unsafe or had blocked access altogether. Nonetheless, it found that many landowners and workers still enter cluster munition-contaminated areas, declaring that they have no choice.[27]

In 2015, 12 people were injured and one person killed by cluster munition remnants[28] (see Casualties and Victim Assistance profile).

Other ERW 

Lebanon is also contaminated by other UXO and booby-traps.

Program Management 

The Lebanon Mine Action Authority (LMAA) has overall responsibility for Lebanon’s mine action program. It is part of the Ministry of Defense and is chaired by the minister himself. In 2007, a national mine action policy outlined the structure, roles, and responsibilities within the program, and LMAC was tasked to execute and coordinate the program on behalf of the LMAA.[29] LMAC also manages risk education and victim assistance.[30]

LMAC, part of the Lebanese armed forces (LAF),[31] is based in Beirut. Since 2009, the Regional Mine Action Center (RMAC), based in Nabatiye, has overseen operations in south Lebanon and western Beqaa.[32] The Director of LMAC is typically rotated every couple of years, and in recent years there has been a high turnover of RMAC Directors. In south Lebanon, coordination meetings between RMAC and operators take place at least once a month.[33]

A donor support group meeting is convened annually, which brings together donors, operators, and the national authorities.[34] UN Development Programme (UNDP) personnel, funded by the European Union (EU), are also seconded to LMAC and RMAC, providing support towards capacity building, including transparency reporting, strategic reviews, and database entry.[35]

In 2015, the Ministry of Defense, represented by LMAC, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) to manage and coordinate the Arabic Outreach Programme for Mine Action. Planning, management, and coordination of the program are due to be handed over to LMAC by the end of 2017, and LMAC, through the Regional School for Humanitarian Demining in Lebanon (RSHDL), will serve as a regional center for the program’s activities.[36]

Strategic planning 

In September 2011, LMAC adopted a strategic mine action plan for 2011–2020.[37] The plan called for clearance of all cluster munition remnants by 2016, and for completion of mine clearance outside the Blue Line by 2020. Both goals are dependent on capacity, and progress has fallen well short of planning targets.[38]

A first mid-term review to the strategy was conducted in January–March 2014 to assess progress towards the 2013 milestone. The review found that in 2011–2013 mine and cluster munition clearance was slow, suffering from underfunding and fewer operating teams than foreseen, while previously unrecorded contaminated areas were identified.[39] It also concluded that with existing capacity it will not be possible to finish cluster munition clearance before 2020 at the earliest.[40] A second mid-term assessment was being undertaken in 2016, with the results due to be published in 2017.[41] 

Demining along the border with Israel was said to depend on “political developments.”[42] Subsequently, in 2016, LMAC reported that the Lebanese government had taken the decision to initiate clearance on the Blue Line.[43]

Lebanon has set three levels of priority regarding mine action. The first is to address infrastructure to allow those displaced by the 2006 conflict to return home; the second is to release agricultural land; and the third is to release land for activities other than agriculture. The first priority goal was met in 2009, and clearance of agricultural areas and development areas are now the priority targets.[44]

Operators 

In 2015, the LAF and international operators DanChurchAid (DCA) and MAG conducted clearance of both landmines and cluster munition remnants.[45] International operator, Handicap International (HI), conducted mine clearance only. International operator, NPA, and national operator, Peace Generation Organization for Demining (POD), conducted clearance of cluster munition remnants only.

The NGO capacity to tackle landmines was a total of nine mine clearance teams.[46] In 2015, MAG deployed two teams in support of manual clearance.[47] HI deployed three manual clearance teams at the beginning of 2015, then added a fourth in March, bringing the total to four teams of seven deminers each, all working in northern Lebanon.[48] HI’s mine clearance operations in northern Lebanon and the Mount Lebanon area are determined by seasonal factors: clearance of minefields below 1,000 meters occurs during winter (October to April), and then clearance of tasks above 1,000 meters begins in April and continues through the summer, depending on snow.[49] DCA conducted mine clearance on Mount Lebanon.[50]

In 2015, MAG deployed five battle area clearance (BAC) clearance teams, down from six teams in 2014. NPA deployed seven teams in 2015.[51] POD had between seven and 10 teams in 2015.[52] DCA had three BAC teams operating in south Lebanon.[53]

In addition, MAG deployed eight machines for BAC and mine clearance. It is the only international operator in Lebanon with mechanical assets to support manual clearance operations, and these assets can be used by other organizations upon request of LMAC.[54] 

In 2015, the capacity of the Lebanese armed forces’ Engineering Regiment (for combined mine and cluster munition remnants operations) comprised two sampling teams, three NTS teams, two mine clearance teams, two BAC teams, four mechanical demining teams, and eight mine detection dog (MDD) teams, in addition to the operations and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) staff who manage and monitor clearance activities.[55]

UNIFIL was established in 1978[56] to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon (which occurred in 2000); restore international peace and security; and assist the government of Lebanon to re-establish its authority in the area.[57] The primary task of UNIFIL mine clearance teams has been to clear access lanes through minefields in order to visibly demarcate the 118km-long Blue Line. UNIFIL does not generally conduct clearance on the Blue Line for humanitarian purposes but only to facilitate placement of markers by clearing three-meter-wide lanes into mined areas.[58] The UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) continues to engage with UNIFIL regarding the possibility of UNIFIL reengaging in humanitarian mine action, but as of September 2016, this had not yet occurred.[59] A total of 134 demining personnel were validated by UNMAS Lebanon during 2015, which consisted of two rotations of the UNIFIL troop contributing countries (TCCs). One mechanical team was deployed, by the Cambodian Field Engineering Platoon.[60]

At the beginning of 2015, operational assets were provided by two UNIFIL TCCs: Cambodia and China. These assets comprised five manual clearance teams, one mechanical clearance team, and one explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team. UNIFIL expected to maintain that capacity throughout 2016.[61] This represents a decrease in capacity compared to the 306 demining personnel validated by the UN Mine Action Support Team during 2014, when operational assets consisted of 10 demining teams.[62]

UNMAS Lebanon, a project of UNMAS, trains UNIFIL demining units and monitors and validates UNIFIL mine clearance along the Blue Line to ensure compliance with IMAS. UNMAS Lebanon operating funds come from UNIFIL’s assessed peacekeeping budget.[63]

Standards

LMAC has been working with the UNDP and other partners to revise the NMAS.[64] LMAC originally expected to finish the revision of the NMAS by the end of 2015,[65] but as of September 2016, the revision was still being finalized, before official approval from the Ministry of Defense.[66] Clearance operators have been consulted and have submitted recommendations for the NMAS revision.[67]

Land Release (Mines) 

Total mined area released by clearance in 2015 was almost 0.92km², compared with 1.28km² in 2014. No land was reported to have been reduced by technical survey or canceled by NTS.

Survey in 2015 (mines) 

No survey was reported as having been conducted in 2015. In 2014, 0.81km² of suspected hazardous area (SHA) was canceled by NTS.

Clearance in 2015 (mines) 

LMAC reported clearance of almost 0.92km² in 2015, across 37 mined areas, with the destruction of 601 antipersonnel mines, 61 antivehicle mines, and 72 items of UXO (see table below). This is a decrease compared to the 1.28km² cleared in 2014.

Mine clearance in 2015[68]

Note: AP = antipersonnel; AV = antivehicle.

UNIFIL reported destruction of 46 antipersonnel mines during their 2015 operations on the Blue Line.[69]

According to LMAC, mine clearance focuses on CHAs, and most of the tasks assigned for clearance were found to have mines.[70] However, mines were only found in one of the five areas cleared by MAG in 2015, with only UXO found in a second area, but no contamination of any kind in the remaining three.[71] HI reported that 20% of the overall mined area it cleared did not contain mines.[72] While some clearance task areas do not contain any contamination, others require clearance of a much larger area than recorded in the IMSMA database. HI reported that in 2015 it cleared over 60% more area than the CHA outlined in the task dossiers received from LMAC.[73] In addition, the CHAs tasked by LMAC to clearance operators do not include obligatory fadeout distances, which can considerably increase the overall size of the task.[74]

Land Release (Cluster Munition Remnants) 

The total amount of cluster munition-contaminated areas released by clearance in 2015 was just under 1.69km², compared to 2.1km² in 2014.[75] 

No area was reported as reduced by technical survey in 2015. In 2015, 92,614m² was reported as having been canceled through NTS.[76] Thirteen previously unrecorded areas were identified as cluster munition contaminated.[77] 

There are discrepancies between the survey and clearance data provided by LMAC, operators, and Lebanon’s Convention on Cluster Munition Article 7 transparency report for 2015, which are described below.

Survey in 2015 (cluster munition remnants)

LMAC did not report any cancelation of land in 2015. However, Lebanon’s Article 7 report recorded the cancelation of 17 areas through NTS totaling 92,614m².[78] This compared to 51 areas totaling 1.7km² canceled in 2014, following MAG’s pre-clearance NTS project.[79]

In 2015, LMAC confirmed 13 previously unrecorded areas as contaminated by cluster munition remnants. They were each allocated a standardized 33,000m² per hazardous area, totaling 429,000m².[80] New cluster munition-contaminated areas are typically the result of call-outs from the public, alerting LMAC to previously undiscovered ERW. LMAC community liaison officers visit each call-out, followed by LMAC’s chief of operations when necessary. New hazardous areas are recorded for those call-outs where cluster munition contamination is confirmed.[81] 

Clearance in 2015 (cluster munition remnants)

LMAC reported the release of 1.69km² of cluster munition-contaminated land by clearance in 2015, in the process destroying 3,329 submunitions (see table below).

Manual clearance is the primary method of clearing cluster munition remnants in Lebanon, but machines are sometimes deployed to make access lanes and remove rubble.[82]

Clearance of cluster munition-contaminated area in 2015[83]

Note: APM = antipersonnel mines; AVM = antivehicle mines; * Includes include items destroyed during rapid response call-outs.[84] 

Clearance data provided by LMAC was inconsistent with that provided by MAG and NPA. MAG reported clearing 15 areas in 2015 totaling 1,120,324m², destroying 317 submunitions and 21 items of UXO. NPA reported clearing 12 areas totaling 570,605m², and destroying 275 submunitions and 58 items of UXO.

The clearance figures reported in the table above also vary from those reported in Lebanon’s Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report for 2015, which stated that 1,637,492m² was cleared in 2015, and a further 189,649m² re-cleared.[85] The number of submunitions reportedly destroyed also differs, according to the Article 7 report it was 3,289. This inconsistency in the data is said to be because the Article 7 report does not include clearance data from the Engineering Regiment of the Lebanese armed forces.[86]

Progress towards completion of antipersonnel mine clearance 

Clearance of mined areas was expected to be completed by the end of 2020, in accordance with the 2011–2020 national strategy.[87] Meeting this target, though, depends on deployment of considerable resources: an estimated 125 manual clearance teams, two mechanical teams, and nine two-strong MDD teams.[88] Current mine clearance capacity is far lower. Lebanon has cleared 3.81km² of mined area in the last five years, as detailed in the table below.

Mine clearance in 2011–2015[89]

Lebanon was conducting a second mid-term review in 2016 and will update findings accordingly in 2017.[90]

Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4 Compliance

Under Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Lebanon is required to destroy all cluster munition remnants in areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 May 2021. Lebanon is not on track to meet this deadline.

The director of LMAC asserts that Lebanon is committed to completion of cluster munition clearance by 2020, if clearance capacity does not decrease.[91] However, fewer BAC teams, the discovery of previously unrecorded cluster munition-contaminated areas, and the impact of working in difficult terrain, have all been identified as obstacles to meeting this deadline.[92]

A review of the 2011–2020 strategy in early 2014 confirmed that with existing capacity it will not be possible to finish cluster munition clearance before 2020 at the earliest.[93] 

Lebanon’s most recent Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report (for 2015) estimates that 40 BAC teams would be needed in order to complete cluster munition clearance by 2020.[94] This equates to an additional 15–19 BAC teams that would be required, based on capacity as of the end of 2015.[95] A more accurate estimate of the required capacity should be made during the second mid-term assessment of the strategic plan that is currently under way.[96]

Annual clearance of cluster munition-contaminated land has decreased over the last four years, as illustrated in the table below.

Five-year summary of clearance[97]

The Monitor gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the Mine Action Review supported and published by Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), which conducted mine action research in 2016 and shared it with the Monitor. The Monitor is responsible for the findings presented online and in its print publications.

In 2015, contributions from six international donors for mine action activities in the Republic of Lebanon totaled US$8.7 million, a 38% increase from the $6.1 million reported in 2014.[1] The European Union (EU) and the United States (US) both contributed more than $2 million.

International contributions: 2015[2]

Note: N/R = not reported

In 2014, the Ministry of Defense of Lebanon supported the Lebanon Mine Action Center (LMAC) with personnel, facilities, 21 Armed Forces Engineering Regiment teams, as well as three rapid response companies. Lebanon has reported contributing an average of $9 million per year.[3]

Lebanon also reported contributions from the private sector in 2015, with $313,769 provided by BLOM Bank[4] for clearance and risk education activities.[5] 

Since 2011, the government of Lebanon contributed $42.4 million to its mine action program, or more than 40% of its total mine action budget, while international contributions totaled some $62 and averaged about $12.5 million per year.

Lebanon’s Mine Action Strategy 2011–2020 had estimated the need for more than $43 million a year for 2014–2016.[6] As in 2014, this target had not, by a large margin, been met in 2015.

Summary of contributions: 2011–2015[7]

Summary points based on findings

• Create a sustainable funding strategy for the physical rehabilitation sector that relies on international funding and national donations.
• Ensure that all survivors in the Lebanon Mine Action Center (LMAC) database have received a healthcare card to facilitate their access to care.
• Introduce standards for prosthetic devices.

Victim assistance commitments

The Lebanese Republic is responsible for significant numbers of cluster munition victims and survivors of other explosive remnants of war (ERW), as well as landmine survivors, who are in need. Lebanon has victim assistance obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Lebanon signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 14 June 2007.

Casualties

Casualties Overview

In 2015, Lebanon Mine Action Center (LMAC) identified 17 mine/ERW casualties. Thirteen of the casualties were boys and the other four were adult men. No female casualties were recorded in 2015 (or 2014). Thirteen casualties were caused by cluster munition remnants.[1] Of the remaining casualties, three were caused by mines and for the other casualty the device was not recorded.[2] A single incident in March 2015, caused the majority of casualties recorded during the year when a group of children were injured in an incident with an unexploded submunition remaining from the 2006 attacks.[3] At least eight of the casualties were refugees living in Lebanon.[4] In September 2015, Lebanon had reported that six Syrians had been injured by cluster munitions so far that year.[5] No deminer casualties were reported in 2015.

The 17 casualties identified in 2015 was similar to the 16 casualties reported in 2014 and represented a decrease of some 30% from the 24 casualties identified in 2013. However, the annual total remained higher than in 2012 (nine casualties)[6] and 2011 (six casualties), while 24 casualties were reported by LMAC in 2010.[7] Annual mine/ERW casualty rates had been declining significantly from the 98 casualties in the year 2000, except for a spike in casualties between August and December 2006, immediately following the July 2006 bombing and cluster munition attacks on southern Lebanon.[8]

The total number of mine/ERW casualties in Lebanon recorded from 1975 to December 2015 was 3,741 mine/ERW casualties.[9] Of these casualties, over 80% were male and less than 20% were female; 27% were children. Of the casualties, 87% are survivors and 13% were killed by cluster munitions (see section on cluster munition casualties, directly below).[10]

Cluster munition casualties

LMAC reported 13 unexploded submunition casualties for 2015. Through December 2015, the Monitor has identified 733 cluster munition casualties, including those recorded by LMAC. Little data is available on casualties that occurred during cluster munition strikes; only 16 (three killed; 13 injured) were identified.[11] LMAC data for the same time period indicated 685 casualties (157 killed; 528 injured) from unexploded submunitions, of which 19% (132) were children at the time of the incident.[12]

Victim Assistance

There were at least 2,818 mine/ERW survivors in Lebanon as of December 2014.[13]

Victim assistance during the Vientiane Action Plan 2011–2015

The number of national and international actors involved in providing a range of victim assistance services to mine/ERW survivors throughout the country increased following bombing and cluster munition attacks by Israel in 2006. Victim assistance has been coordinated through regular meetings of the Steering Committee hosted by the LMAC since 2001, however Lebanon began to develop a national victim assistance strategy for the first time in 2011. In 2012, a detailed victim assistance needs assessment was conducted by a Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) consultant to enable a longer-term victim assistance strategy to be developed.[14] NPA and LMAC’s jointly initiated assessment was carried out in line with the Lebanon National Strategy 2011–2020 that requires a regular needs assessment of the situation of, and services available to, cluster munition victims.[15] The victim assistance strategy established targets for comprehensive victim assistance by 2020.

There was a major decrease in funds for victim assistance activities in 2012, and as a result of few activities being implemented, the National Steering Committee on Victim Assistance met infrequently that year. In 2013, the committee began to return to previous levels of activity.[16]

In 2013, further steps were taken to establish coordination between the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Steering Committee to ensure that all eligible survivors will be granted a disability card by 2016.[17] Lebanon was in the process of reviewing the eligibility requirements for persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors, to receive disability cards to entitle them to some free health services.[18]

Due to the crisis in Syria, diversion of healthcare resources and other services to assist incoming refugees from that country increased.

Victim assistance in 2015

The funding situation had improved since 2013, however, the existing level of support was still insufficient to serve the victims.[19] The recent influx of large numbers of refugees from Syria continued to exacerbate the situation. In particular, Lebanon noted that resources remained scarce while international assistance to Lebanon remained “relatively insignificant compared to the size of the crisis.”[20]

Assessing victim assistance needs

The victim assistance survey, launched in 2013 by LMAC, was finalized in 2014.[21] LMAC conducted a national needs assessment survey that reached out to a randomly selected sample of 690 victims (survivors and deceased) and their families. It assessed medical, economic, social, psychological, and educational/training needs, as well as opportunities and challenges.[22] Survey data provided the Steering Committee with information, focusing mostly on medical and rehabilitation needs.[23] Upon analysis of the survey data, the Steering Committee determined that there was a need for a new national needs assessment survey. In 2015, LMAC continued to update the mine victims’ database.[24]

In response to the influx of Syrian refugees, the ICRC conducted a physical rehabilitation needs assessment mission in 2014. After the assessment, the ICRC Physical Rehabilitation Project Manager began working to further assess the situation and build relationships with physical rehabilitation services in Lebanon.[25]

Victim assistance coordination[26]

LMAC manages and coordinates the implementation of victim assistance in Lebanon through the National Steering Committee on Victim Assistance. The committee includes representatives of the following organizations:

• The Injured and Victims of War Association;
• The Islamic Al Rissala Scouts Association;
• The Islamic Health Council;
• The Landmines Resource Center;
• The Lebanese Association for Health and Social Care;
• The Lebanese Welfare Association for the Handicapped;
• The Ministry of Social Affairs;
• The National Rehabilitation and Development Center;
• Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA);
• The Philanthropic Association for the Handicapped in Nabatiyeh;
• The Vision Association for Development, Rehabilitation and Care;
• The World Rehabilitation Fund.

The committee is responsible for implementing the victim assistance strategy in addition to ensuring coordination between the different stakeholders.[27] In 2015, the committee held eight meetings to discuss on-going and future projects as well as updates on the national situation. Additionally, two workshops on national standards for victim assistance were held in 2015.[28]

The Lebanon Mine Action Strategy 2011–2020 includes a commitment to the “full realisation of the rights of mine victims guaranteed,” where “all victims are provided with medical, social, psychological, and economic support as part of the fulfillment of their full legal rights as stated in the law 220/2000.” The strategy contains a specific reference to victim assistance in the context of the Article 5 obligation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the “spirit of compliance” with the Mine Ban Treaty, and implementation of the CRPD.[29]

The midterm review of the Lebanon Mine Action Strategy 2011–2020 was completed in 2014. Based on the review, new next “milestones” for 2016 were amended to include:

• All eligible victims have been issued disability cards through a coordination mechanism set between Ministry of Social Affairs and the Steering Committee headed by LMAC;
• The implementation of Law 220/2000 has been advocated for through meetings organized with the relevant ministries and with the private sector;
• 4,200 copies of the booklet designed to increase victims’ awareness towards their rights has been distributed to victims and the private sector;
• An advocacy campaign has been organized by survivors to advocate their rights;
• National standards for prosthetic devices have been set;
• 90 victims have been provided with prosthetic devices, 54 with prosthetics repair services, and 15 with assistive devices;
• A survivor satisfaction survey has been implemented for 100 victims and 100 family members;
• 280 survivors have been trained to enhance their income-generation skills;
• 60 survivors have been trained in advocacy;
• 20 survivors have been provided with funds to implement their income-generating projects;
• Memorandums of understanding (MoUs) have been drafted with at least two entities from the private sector to provide services to victims.

Lebanon provided an update on its progress and challenges in implementing victim assistance at the Convention on Cluster Munitions First Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty in Dubrovnik in September 2015.[30] Lebanon submitted its Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report for calendar year 2015 that includes information on victim assistance.

In 2015, an external evaluator from the EU visited Lebanon to evaluate the implementation of EU-funded projects regarding victim assistance.[31]

Disability issues were coordinated with the Ministry of Social Affairs in 2015, with staff working closely with the Steering Committee and LMAC.[32] Local and international humanitarian agencies helping persons with disabilities among refugees from Syria and Lebanese host communities are coordinating their efforts through the Disability and Older Age Working Group, formed in June 2013. The Working Group held 18 meetings in 2014.[33]

Survivor inclusion and participation

A survivor was reported to have been included in the Steering Committee as a representative of NGO service providers. Disabled Persons’ Organizations (DPOs) were also included in the Steering Committee.[34] In September 2014, a survivor provided an intervention as a representative of survivors at a meeting of the Steering Committee.[35] Victims displayed hand-made crafts and spoke at the International Support Group meeting in 2015, in addition to the screening of a short film of victim testimonies.[36]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities

Lebanese healthcare services and facilities were placed under additional pressure in 2015 as a result of internal violence and the arrival of war-wounded Syrians seeking medical assistance. In response to this situation, the ICRC provided medical supplies and medicines for 23 medical facilities and paid for the treatment of 219 patients.[37] The ICRC maintained its support for its main operational partner, the Lebanese Red Cross, to carry out medical evacuations of Syrian war casualties crossing into Lebanon in 2015.

In response to the strain on the Lebanese medical system, the ICRC established a weapon traumatology center in two Tripoli hospitals for all patients. The center, split between Dar al-Chifae hospital and Dar al-Zahra hospital, was opened to all patients in October. In 2015, the center performed more than 400 operations on 176 patients. In total, around 570 people received follow-up treatment including physiotherapy and psychological support.[38] The ICRC held seminars on weapon-wound surgery, first aid, and emergency room trauma care (for further information on ICRC services to Syrians in Lebanon, see the Syria country profile.) It also helped the Lebanese Red Cross blood bank keep pace with increased demand caused by the influx of Syrian war casualties.[39]

Rehabilitation including prosthetics, economic inclusion, and psychosocial assistance

Approximately 100 relatively active but poorly funded private organizations provided most of the assistance received by persons with disabilities.[40] Physical rehabilitation was largely dependent on funding from external donors and national charities.[41] In 2015, the EU, the Marshall Legacy Institute (MLI), and ITF Enhancing Human Security (ITF) were among the major donors for victim assistance in Lebanon.[42] National organizations supported 37 survivors in accessing physiotherapy sessions in 2015.[43]

LMAC reported that 65 survivors received new prostheses, including four women, and another 54 survivors (including six women) had their prostheses repaired or maintained through funding from the EU, MLI, and ITF in 2015. In addition, local organizations were reported to have provided 59 survivors with prosthetic devices and 30 survivors with mobility aids and assistive devices while reaching 54 survivors to repair or maintain prostheses.[44] Lebanese Welfare Association for the Handicapped (LWAH) reported fitting almost 300 prostheses and assistive devices and providing physiotherapy services to over 500 persons with disabilities in 2015.[45]

In 2015, the ICRC supported physical rehabilitation services for 500 people, including 170 who were fitted with prosthetic/orthotic devices, via the ICRC-run unit at Dar al-Zahra hospital or referrals to Lebanese service providers. At least two prostheses were provided to mine/ERW survivors.[46]

LMAC, in coordination with the Steering Committee, implemented an economic inclusion project that targeted 175 mine/ERW survivors. The survivors took training on proposal writing for income-generating projects, namely poultry production, beekeeping, and tree planting. After the training, 39 survivors won grants to start businesses. Local organizations provided business loans, vocational training support, or income-generating grants to 55 survivors.[47] In 2015, the Landmine Resource Center at the University of Balamand reported an increase in family members of those killed or injured in income-generation training workshops.[48]

Psychological support was the least developed area of assistance in Lebanon. In 2015, national organizations provided psycho-social therapy to 28 survivors and social support to 253 survivors. In 2015, it was reported that persons with psychosocial impairments had been recently granted the use of disability identification cards.[49]

National laws and policies

Law 220/2000 on the “Access and Rights of People with Disability” addresses the rights of persons with disabilities to have access to adequate education, rehabilitation services, employment, medical services, sports, as well as access to public transport and other facilities. However, Lebanon also reported that the law had yet to be comprehensively put into practice, due in part to a lack of sufficient resource allocation within the national budget.[50] Lebanon reported that it is looking to integrate the implementation of Convention on Cluster Munitions victim assistance provisions into existing coordination mechanisms, such as the ones created for the CRPD and Law 220/2000.[51] However, little progress has occurred since parliament passed the law on disabilities in 2000.[52] Inadequate assistance for persons with disabilities resulted in severe consequences including challenges in gaining access to services,  isolation, and stigma. It was reported that Lebanon lacked a national disability policy and coordination between relevant ministries that wasted the opportunities for implementation of existing legislation as well as an absence of a budget for its implementation.[53]

Discrimination against persons with disabilities is prohibited by law, but continued to exist. The National Disability Law stipulates a 3% quota for hiring persons with disabilities for all employers. However, there was no evidence the law was enforced and there was little to no impact. The law required that buildings be made accessible to persons with disabilities, but the building code still required amendments.[54] The National Council of Persons with Disability has held consultations including persons with disabilities on social protection programs. The Council, however, does not have any executive responsibility despite its responsibility for disability social policy.[55]

In 2015, the Lebanese Coalition of Organizations of Disabled Persons reported that there were no disability pensions (for families or for persons with disabilities) or family support to care for persons with disabilities, nor did persons with disabilities receive mobility grants. There was a large gap between the demand for services for persons with disabilities and the existing services.[56]

In 2015, most public facilities, including schools and universities, were not yet accessible for persons with disabilities.[57]

There were a number of submissions to Lebanon’s 2015 Universal Period Review in the Human Rights Council that raised concerns about access to education for children with disabilities. Between 2010 and 2014, the Ministry of Education developed a strategic plan for educational integration but the plan has not yet been submitted to Cabinet for approval and implementation.[58]

Persons with disabilities in Lebanon continue to face barriers to exercising their civil and political rights particularly in regards to access to information.[59] Article 92 of Lebanon’s electoral law requires that the Ministry of the Interior eliminate barriers to voting for persons with disabilities; however, measures to do this have not be implemented.[60]

The Mine Victim Assistance Steering Committee coordinated consultation sessions between the municipalities and its members to raise awareness of the rights of victims.[61] In 2015, draft updated national standards and pricing of prosthetics were developed and discussed.[62] Three workshops were held for the Steering Committee on the topic of national mine action standards on victim assistance.[63]